Fruits of the sea-fish,
crabs, and 25-pound turtle
-reward Fiji Islanders
working on Canton. Mer
cury men inspect the catch.
Bamboo Batons Tap Out
a South Seas Rhythm
Gilbert and Ellice Island
ers who work on Canton
chant and sway to clash
ing sticks during an eve
ning of songs and dances
in a palm-decorated club
house. Chief in red lava
lava, a wraparound skirt,
calls the orders for the
garlanded musicians. "The
harmony was as beautiful
as that of a trained choir,"
reports the author, a guest
at the performance.
Hunting crabs, a lantern
bearing Fijian wades the
shallows off Canton.
208
a line running inland from the
water's edge.
Abruptly a large shadow
swept along the beach to my
right. It moved so swiftly that
I thought it was the moon shad
ow of a bird.
"Did you see that?" I asked
Saula, the Fijian nearest me.
He shook his head.
Then another shadow flew
across my path, and another.
Suddenly I knew the answer.
They were ghost crabs, silver
wraiths that were hardly visible